Secrets of the Job Hunt

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Did you know that some nonprofit and fundraising jobs pay more than six figures?

A recent report from The Canadian Press analyzing nonprofit salary data from the Canada Revenue Agency found that several top employees are earning six-figure salaries. Every charity throughout the nation is required to disclose the earnings of its 10 highest-paid employees.

Salaries are broken down as follows:

Roughly 300 employees bring in more than $350,000 per year.

More than 6,000 employees earn salaries above $120,000 per year.

About 12,000 workers see salaries between $80,000 and $120,000 per year.

Some 163,000 employees make less than $80,000 per year.

There are currently about 85,000 nonprofit organizations throughout Canada. These groups include everything from traditional charities that raise money for various causes to hospitals, school boards, and colleges.

Many organizations justify paying such high salaries by saying that it's important to have top talent in charge, and top talent typically costs top dollar.

"If you really want those charities to have an impact and make a real difference, you're going to need to bring in the best people to work in that sector," Marcel Lauziere of Imagine Canada, a group that advocates on behalf of Canadian charities, said. "It's not only in government and in business. So you will have to pay salaries that are commensurate to that."

A handful of organizations employ at least 10 people earning $350,000 or more, including: La Salle Manor, Regina Qu'Appelle Regional Health Authority, the University of Saskatchewan, and Mount Sinai Hospital, as well as a number of churches and religious and community groups.